Israel says it is beginning mission to ‘take out’ Hamas brigades in city, as aid officials say flow of supplies through crossing has halted

Israeli military forces have taken control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, Israeli officials have said, in the first stage of what appears to be a wider offensive targeting Hamas in the southernmost parts of Gaza.

“This is the beginning of our mission to take out the last four Hamas brigades in Rafah. You should be in no doubt about that whatsoever,” an Israeli government spokesperson said.

Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Gaza border authority confirmed the presence of Israeli tanks at the Rafah crossing and images released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) showed tanks flying large Israeli flags driving through the post.

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  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    3•12 days ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The Israeli operation was launched hours after after an announcement by Hamas leaders on Monday night that they would accept a recent proposal for a ceasefire deal that would lead to the release of hostages held by the Islamist militant organisation in Gaza.

    The Rafah crossing is particularly sensitive for Egypt, which is anxious to avoid a mass migration of Palestinians into its Sinai desert in the event of a major offensive into the city, which lies just to its west.

    A permanent presence at the crossing would give Israel the ability to control all traffic, including aid shipments, and could act as a launchpad for further operations against the cross-border tunnels which, Israeli officials have said, allow Hamas to obtain vital supplies.

    It was not immediately clear if the proposal Hamas agreed to was substantially different from one that Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, pressed the group to accept last week and which he said included significant Israeli concessions.

    Talks in Cairo had appeared to stall at the weekend over Hamas’s insistence that Israel should commit to making the ceasefire permanent at the outset of the agreement, rather than to negotiate its duration after the truce had taken hold.

    Netanyahu’s grip on power might slip if he loses support of far-right coalition allies who oppose any concessions to Hamas, but there is also pressure to free the remaining hostages.

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